Many great things happened in O’Fallon in 2017

On behalf of the City Council and O’Fallon city staff, I would like to wish you and your families a merry Christmas and a safe and joyful new year.

In our community, we are fortunate to have so many positives to be grateful for during the holiday season. O’Fallon is a special city, and it seems that every week over the past year brought something to celebrate.

This last year was one that forever changed this community, for the positive. Here are just a few items that we can be grateful happened in O’Fallon, over the past year:

▪ The opening of the HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Medical Campus and the continued growth of the I-64 “Medical Mile.”

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▪ Destination O’Fallon and the construction of eight all-weather soccer fields in the O’Fallon Family Sports Park. The completion of a new baseball field and a new softball field in the Sports Park, and the Downtown Plaza, are scheduled to be completed next year — we can’t wait!

▪ Once again, having over 150 new homes built in O’Fallon. New and long-time residents continue to choose O’Fallon as their home and this continues to be the fastest growing community in the metro-east and one of the fastest in the St. Louis region.

▪ O’Fallon’s business community continues to grow! The list of new business openings in O’Fallon is so long, there would be no room for it in this column. O’Fallon is a progressive community that has proven to be a smart investment for many businesses.

▪ This year brought the revival of the Illuminated Holiday Parade, thanks to a number of great volunteers. I look forward to many more community events in the future, especially City Fest, which will debut in August 2018.

This list could go on and on, but I want to provide an opportunity for all of you to express what has been your favorite event or experience in O’Fallon during 2017. Please go to the city’s Facebook page and let us know!

Finally, I want to share with everyone a “holiday present.” On Dec. 18, the City Council voted to reduce the city property tax rate by over 4 percent. This will lower the property tax levy paid to the city of O’Fallon back to the level it was at in 2014, and will be the largest reduction in city of O’Fallon property taxes in 20 years!

We have done our job to reduce your property taxes, but we can only control the city and library’s portion.

2017 has been a great year, and I personally can’t wait to see what 2018 has in store. Thank you for allowing me to serve you as mayor.

As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open.